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Looking at the Treasury from the Siq; a trademark Petra shot. |
The Holy Land has long been on our travel wish list, and with current world events I think Jordan is as close to Jerusalem as we are going to safely get, at least for the present. Our trip began with a drive over the causeway into Bahrain; we were on the same flight as the Derksens our next-door neighbors (Jake and Cole are Jess' constant playmates-- the boys enjoyed being on the same plane together, and it made the short 2 hour flight go by even more quickly).
We arrived in Amman in the mid-afternoon and rented a car at the airport (we were separated from the Derksens in baggage claim, and didn't see them again until we got home). The car was perfectly adequate, and in better condition than the one we rented in Turkey, but still, it had a lot of dents and shook when you got over 100 k/h.
I always like a country where they drive on the right side of the road, and the fact that this is indeed the case in Jordan made it a little easier to find our way to Madaba for our first night's lodging. The trip went relatively smoothly, with help from locals in broken English (on their parts) and nearly non-existent Arabic (on my part). It would have been easier with a map, but the rental car guy was out, and sheepishly gave us postcards instead.
As the tourist industry in Jordan is reeling from 9/11, we had no trouble procuring rooms (often having a whole suite, or floor, to ourselves, an at cut rate prices as well). We found the Jordanians to be very friendly and welcoming; even more so when they learned we were Americans. They vigorously denounced the terrorist acts of last September, and wished for peace. Many of those we spoke with of course were in the tourism industry and are very hard hit by the lull (to put it lightly) in tourism as a direct result of those acts.
What we saw in Jordan, a peaceful co-existence of Muslim and Judeo-Christian traditions, fills me with hope for the world.
But this is a travelogue, so:
3/21, Thursday: Madaba, the biblical Medeba; Mt. Nebo, where Moses is buried; the Dead Sea; Church of St. George, with the earliest mosaic-map of the Holy Land.
3/22, Friday: Karak, a Crusader Castle; and south to Petra
3/23, Saturday: All day inside Petra, with Jeshua riding donkeys.
3/24, Sunday: Morning still at Petra, Jess now riding camels and horses; afternoon at "Little Petra;" then south to Aqaba.
3/25, Monday: AM: Snorkeling on beach near Saudi border; PM drive to Amman. We went right on past Wadi Rum, which we have been told is spectacular, because it was so cold and windy we could not imagine enjoying an overnight in the desert. I guess we didn't take any video, so this one is not a link.
3/26, Tuesday: Jerash, ancient Gerasa--an incredibly large, well preserved Greco-Roman ruin. WOW! We almost passed this up, but it turned out to be maybe the best day of our vacation. Fantastic! The night we spent in the national park of Dibeen.
3/27, Wednesday: Airport logistics, an evening in Bahrain (one wrong turn and then stuck in traffic for an hour), dinner at Starbucks in the Sief Mall, and back over the causeway to home sweet home in Khobar.
You can click the days above, or the dots on the map below; either way, they take you to a few pictures. Arlee took some BEAUTIFUL stills, but those won't appear until after we get back to the States and scan them in.
